Tune Information

Texts

Eternal Ruler of the ceaseless round
Of circling planets singing on their way;
Guide of the nations from the night profound
Into the glory of the perfect day;
Rule in our hearts, that we may ever be
Guided and strengthened and upheld by thee.

Alternative Tunes

Notes

John Wainwright (b. Stockport, England, 1723; d. Stockport, 1768) wrote YORKSHIRE for this text in 1750. The tune was first sung on Christmas Day, 1750, in the parish church of Stockport; it was first published in Caleb Ashworth's Collection of Tunes (1760) and then in Wainwright's Collection of Psalm - Tunes, Anthems, Hymns and ChantsCollection of Psalm Tunes, Anthems, Hymns and Chants for 1, 2, 3, and 4 Voices in 1766. His sons also became well-known musicians.

YORKSHIRE has some marvelous ascending phrases. The second line repeats in the final line with a happy rhythmic change. Try having a small group (a choir or two antiphonal groups) sing stanzas 1 and 2, or begin with a small group and then add singers every two lines. The entire congregation could then sing stanza 3. The hymn also works well as a processional. See 80 for a setting of this tune in the key of B-flat.